St. Louis CITY2 – 2 (5), Colorado Rapids 2 – 2 (4)
MLS NEXT Pro Match Week 23 | Sunday, August 10, 2025
Energizer Park, St. Louis, MO
The Big Picture
Colorado Rapids 2 (10-6-5, 35 pts.) drew 2-2 against St. Louis CITY2 (14-4-2, 46 pts.) on Sunday night at Energizer Park. St. Louis would ultimately earn the extra point in a 5-4 shootout result.
Colorado entered the match with only two changes to the starting eleven from last week’s win over North Texas SC. With forward Antony García serving a suspension for a red card, defender James Cameron tried his hand in the attack on the left wing while striker Mamadou Billo Diop was replaced by Rogelio García in the nine position.
St. Louis was quick to test goalkeeper Zack Campagnolo and the back line with pressure in the box. The back three of Vincent Rinaldi, Josh Belluz and Charlie Harper did well to protect Campagnolo from having to make any saves on the nine shots the home team put up in the first half.
Colorado would begin to take form around the 20th minute, starting to move the ball forward to create some attacking possibilities. The team’s best chance would come in the 34th minute when a clearance from St. Louis took a poor deflection to end up at the feet of Garcia just outside of the box. Garcia would then play it on to Cameron who released a shot that was barely blocked by a St. Louis defender.
As the half was coming to a close, CITY2 would find an opportunity to score the game opener in stoppage time. The home side would head into the half up by a goal with 45 minutes to play.
The Rapids came into the second half eager to find their equalizer. The chance would come in the 56th minute with Malik Pinto being fed a ball from substitute Diop on the outside of the box. Pinto would play a short pass to Anderson Rosa who sent a cross in to find the head of Garcia who collided with the St. Louis goalkeeper. The ball would fall to the feet of Cameron who sent it into the upper netting for his first Rapids 2 goal.
Minutes later, leading goal scorer Diop would give the team its go-ahead goal off a free kick opportunity. Pinto stood over the free kick and serviced a perfectly placed ball into traffic in the middle of the box. Diop would find a small amount of space to poke it in for his ninth of the season in the 69th minute. The goal would mark Diop’s fifth in three consecutive matches for Rapids 2.
The final minutes of the match saw the two sides trade chances. In a moment of pressure in Colorado’s box, defender Harper would commit a foul to give St. Louis a penalty kick in the 81st minute. Goalkeeper Campagnolo would dive in the right direction, but Mykhi Joyner’s shot would find the back of the net for the equalizer.
Both sides would end regulation with two goals in hand, sending the teams to a shootout to determine the winner of the extra point. It would be St. Louis goalkeeper Christian Olivares who would be the hero of the shootout, making a save in the fourth round to give the home team the extra point on the night.
Rapids 2 will return home to University of Denver Soccer Stadium on Friday, August 15, to take on Austin FC II. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. MT with coverage on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Scoring Summary:
STL – Miguel Perez (Emil Jääskeläinen) 45+2’
COL – James Cameron 56’
COL – Mamadou Billo Diop (Malik Pinto) 69’
STL – Mykhi Joyner (PK) 81’
Shootout Summary:
COL – Charlie Harper (Goal)
STL – Emil Jääskeläinen (Goal)
COL – Mamadou Billo Diop (Goal)
STL – Mykhi Joyner (Goal)
COL – Anderson Rosa (Goal)
STL – Miguel Perez (Goal)
COL – Matthew Senanou (Saved)
STL – Cameron Cilley (Goal)
COL – Malik Pinto (Goal)
STL – Brendan McSorley (Goal)
Notables:
- D James Cameron scored his first goal for Rapids 2 in the 56th minute of the match.
- F Mamadou Billo Diop recorded his ninth goal of the season.
- Diop has added five goals in three consecutive matches and is currently leading the team in goals this season.
- M Malik Pinto added his second assist of the season on Diop’s 69th minute goal.
- Rapids Academy midfielder Pedro Venegas made his first appearance of 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season.
